Chapter 26

In an effort to appease Penny, I agreed to view movies the she deemed entertaining. To her credit, she attempted to provide films that she thought I would also find benefit in. I appreciated the effort, although not always the result.

I attempted to reciprocate by choosing several of my favorites that I believed might appeal to her. Once again, the results were mixed. I feared this might affect our budding relationship, however she seemed to be impressed by the fact that I had 'made the effort' as she put it to try to please her.

I was at first confused by the application of 'sexy lingerie' as Penny referred to it, into the equation of our relationship. But while I could not see the need for it in order to initiate coitus, I began to understand that it was pleasant addition to the situation. Very pleasant indeed.

I found myself learning on a daily basis of the intricacies of a romantic relationship with a woman. While I had met some of those hurdles with Amy, I never made the same attempt to stay in her good graces as I did with Penny. I began to understand the difference when emotions are included in the equation.

(from the personal journal of Sheldon Cooper, PhD)

The four guys had just taken their usual seats in the Cheesecake Factory and were waiting for Penny to come over to greet them, when they noticed her in the corner speaking with another woman.

Even with Sheldon's Vulcan hearing, he could only make out part of the conversation through the noisy restaurant. He heard Penny saying, "..not my fault…that's not fair…can't we…" and the other woman saying, "…the rules…nothing I can do…"

But mostly he could tell that Penny was really upset. He didn't take his eyes off of her and was ready to get up and intervene. He hated to see Penny upset. But she ended her conversation and turned around. When she saw them, she approached the table.

"Sorry, guys. I had to talk to my manager."

Sheldon looked around her at the woman who was still at the desk in the corner. "Is that Jill the bitch?"

"Sheldon, shhh! She'll hear you. I don't need any more trouble tonight."

He looked at Penny now and saw that her eyes were red as if she'd been crying.

"Is something wrong, Penny?" Leonard asked her.

She bit her lip, almost afraid to speak, but when she saw Jill go back to her office, she said, "I had a table skip on me. And Jill is making me pay for them."

Sheldon looked confused, "Skip? While it may be ill-advised to skip in a restaurant, I cannot see a reason to make you pay for that."

The other guys and Penny just stared at him for a moment, then Leonard said, "She means they walked out without paying their bill."

"But that's stealing!" Sheldon exclaimed. "And certainly not your fault, Penny."

"Yeah, well that's not what Jill says. Every waitress is expected to settle her checks and if they didn't pay, then I have to. And they ordered a lot of food and drinks too. Around a hundred and fifty dollars. She's taking it out of my pay check. And this is … well, whatever, there's nothing I can do."

Sheldon saw how upset she was and knew that she could ill afford that much money.

"Look guys, I'm going to take a little break. I need to get myself together. Can you wait a few for me to get your order?"

"Sure." Leonard said.

She went to the ladies' room and Sheldon watched her walk away. While the other guys talked about what happened, he was silent. The he saw Jill come out of her office.

He rose, saying, "I'll be right back."

"Sheldon!' Leonard called, "Leave it be. You'll only make it worse."

"As you have no idea what I intend to do, how could you possibly know that I will make it worse?"

Leonard just shook his head and told him as he walked away, "You screw up her job and she's going to kill you."

Sheldon ignored him and approached the restaurant manager. "Excuse me, are you Jill? The manager?"

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem with the service, sir?"

"No, of course not. As Penny serves us, the service is always excellent. I understand that restaurant patrons cheated the Cheesecake Factory out of its required remuneration."

"Excuse me?"

"They left without paying."

"Yes. I assume Penny told you. I know you are one of her friends, but there is really nothing I can do. Corporate policy states that the server is responsible for each table and—"

"Yes, so Penny told us. While that seems to be a useless policy, I understand. I am not here to argue that policy, despite its ludicrous nature. I am here to pay the bill."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have aural difficulties?"

"What?"

"Twice you said excuse me. Perhaps you need to have your aural capabilities assessed."

She shook her head, not wanting to get into it with him. "Look, Mr., uh,..."

"Doctor Sheldon Cooper."

"Okay, Doctor Cooper. That bill was one hundred and fifty-three dollars."

"I am aware of the number."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I am always sure of any task I undertake."

She shrugged, "It's your money. As long as you think Penny's worth it."

He stared at her as he handed over his credit card. "Penny is most definitely worth it. I will require a receipt."

She took care of the transaction and gave him the receipt. He returned to the table just moments before Penny came out of the ladies room and went to their table.

"Sorry, guys. I'll take your order now."

Later that night, just before Penny was about to leave, she thought she'd try to convince Jill to let her at least wait until the following pay day so that she wouldn't be short on her rent.

"Jill, is there any way you could take the money out of my next pay instead of this one?"

"No, Penny, all outstanding bills need to be settled by the end of the week. However, you won't have to worry about it. It's been taken care of."

"Oh, thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me, I'm not responsible. Your, uh, friend took care of it."

"My friend?"

"Yes, you know one of the guys you wait on every Tuesday."

"What are you talking about? One of the guys paid it? Who?"

"The tall, skinny one. Must be nice to have guys like that in your back pocket."

"They're not in my pocket. They're my friends."

"Right. Look, Penny, I know about girls like you. Come to the big city from the sticks hoping to be a star and ending up as a waitress. So if you can't make your fortune in front of the camera, you make it on your back. Which one of them are you currently sleeping with? Or is it all of them?"

"What?" Penny was outraged.

"Oh, stop the innocent act. A girl who looks like you isn't friends with guys like that unless she is getting something for it. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame you, but don't pretend they're just your friends."

"They are my friends."

"Right, and you haven't slept with any of them."

Penny was silent.

"Thought so." Jill said and walked away.

Penny drove home and thought about what Jill had said. Did she really use the guys? Okay, maybe for WiFi and coffee and milk when she ran out. And she didn't always pay for dinner when she ate with them. So she'd slept with Leonard, but only when they'd been dating and now she was with Sheldon, so that was okay, right?

Sheldon. He was so sweet sometimes. He didn't need to pay that check for her. But she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity either.

When she got home, she went right to 4A and knocked. Sheldon opened the door.

"Oh, hello, Penny—"

She cut him off with a kiss. "Thank you, sweetie. You really are the best."

"Oh, I suppose your manager told you. It's insignificant."

"Not to me it isn't. You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I didn't have to. I am only required to do very few things. However, I know that you will need to pay your rent this week and I surmised a shortage in your pay would cause you a shortfall in your payment."

"You surmised right. But I'm paying you back."

"That isn't necessary."

"Yes, it is." She looked at him, biting her lip, "Sheldon, do I take advantage of you and the guys?"

"Of course you do."

Her face fell. "Really? You think I'm a whore who uses you for what I can get?"

"No, of course I don't."

"But you said…"

"I agreed that you take advantage. To 'take advantage' is to see something that is advantageous to oneself and making use of it. We have knowledge, food, and WIFI, among other things that are necessary to your life and you make use of those things. It's perfectly logical for you to do that. You aren't a 'whore' because that would imply that you exchange sexual favors for those things. "

"I slept with Leonard and now I'm sleeping with you!"

He twitched uncomfortably as he did whenever the subject of sex was brought up and especially her prior relationship with his roommate.

"You were not seeking material benefits when engaged in a sexual relationship with Leonard, nor presently with myself. And you have not been so involved with Howard or Raj. And as you have nothing else of value to exchange, there is no prostitution involved here."

Her eyes started to fill now. "I have nothing of value to bring to our group?"

"I didn't say that either. Lord, woman, how you turn my words around. I said you have nothing to exchange, no money or skills. What you bring to the group is quite different."

"What do I bring?"

He hesitated, uneasy about expressing his feelings to her like this. But he could see she was distressed and knew that as her boyfriend, it was his duty to reassure her.

"You bring your smile."

"That's it? My smile?"

"Penny, do you not understand how important your smile is? To see you smile is on par with seeing the sunrise or a star go super nova. Your smile brightens the room and makes everyone feel better.'

There were tears in her eyes again, but this time they were happy tears. She put her arms around him again.

"Thank you, Sheldon. You really are the sweetest guy, aren't you?"

"Penny, I am not sweet."

"You are to me."

Just a note: I am ignoring the incident of Penny and Raj in bed becaseu I think it was really stupid. So there!